And at the stroke of midnight, I was one of the million faithful that snatched up the promising parallelogram from local GameStops, Best Buys, Targets and what have you.

That was three weeks ago. And now that I got some much-anticipated game time under my belt, I have no regrets with my decision to go with Sony’s game machine over the Xbox One.

The PS4 is everything I imagined it to be — a powerful gaming machine with a great gamepad and jaw-dropping visuals.

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Not only will your games look impressive at a native 1080p picture on AAA titles, you have a sleek-looking box to boot.

The installation process was simple. When I fired up the console for the first time that Friday morning, other than the necessary Day One updates and creating a user profile, my eyes were glued to the Battlefield 4 action on my screen in no time.

Even though Sony acknowledges that a small number of consumers received PS4s that were “dead on arrival,” the only other hiccup was a PlayStation Network crash due to high volume of gamers logging onto the service.

The following day, I tried for a second time to create my PSN account and I finally got online — and the rest of my day became consumed with trying to figure out the ins and outs of BF4 multiplayer.

When you power up the next-gen console, you aren’t immediately blown away by the operating system and its user interface. But the UI does enough for me. It’s simple and streamlined – your games and activities are front and center.

You scroll through your games and web browser horizontally, with a familiar-looking “XrossMediaBar” look above.

You can link your PlayStation profile to Facebook or Twitter to share your latest button spamming activities like screenshots or video capture.

The PlayStation 4 lets you record up to 15 minutes of gameplay footage with the snazzy new “Share” button alongside the “Options” button on the other side of another new feature — the touchpad.

You can also use your Facebook profile picture for your PSN account. And you have the ability to display your real name to friends and vice versa.

Like previous models, Netflix and Hulu Plus are also streamable on the device along with Sony’s music and video services — Music and Video Unlimited.

Aside from the vanilla settings, friends, profile and update menus, PS4’s appearance is straight-to-the-point. And I have no gripes with it because the OS in the current system and systems past has never been Sony’s forte.

The game experience has been the main focus for PlayStation from a public relations standpoint. And adverts like the “Greatness Awaits” and “Perfect Day” commercials pay testament to that.

I know the software is lacking at the moment, but promising exclusive games like Infamous: Second Son and The Order: 1886 are on the horizon.

But as far as the gameplay is concerned, the major change is the much-improved DualShock 4.

The upgraded controller features a before-mentioned touchpad and the previous “Start” and “Select” buttons were done away with.

The back of the controller is surrounded in a rubber grip that feels comfortable in your hands, and the parallel sticks have a dip in the center so your thumbs can quickly and accurately aim in a first-person shooter at your heart’s content.

The triggers have also gone through a makeover. The L2 and R2 panels now feature a concave design as opposed to the convex design of the DS3 and a light bar has been added to the top of the pad to distinguish players that are competing on the same TV – such as when you play FIFA 14 and Player 1 has a blue bar while P2’s lights up red.

Sony also packaged a mono headset with each system, which connects through a standard 3.5mm headphone port.

Your PlayStation can also be controlled by your voice via the headset to a certain extent. You can say, “PlayStation, play Battlefield.” It’s nothing special. I never use it, but it’s there.

Some other features that might tickle your fancy include the fact that you can now put your PS into a standby mode, and in this mode your console will work at a low-powered state while downloading games and updates. And where the PS3 only allowed you to charge your controller while it was on, you can now juice up your DS4 in standby mode. Your controller and the light bar on the console will glow orange.

Even though I’ve only had a month to tinker with my PlayStation 4, and the only title I have to my name is Battlefield 4, I’m intrigued to see what the future has in store.

And although games like “Killzone: Shadow Fall” and “Knack” are good starts for Sony, developers have yet to tap into the true power of the PS4.

It’s when games like “Uncharted,” “Destiny,” and “MLB: The Show” finally hit the stands, that PS4 might stand above the rest for a true next-gen gaming experience.